LOW salaries and large-scale bribery of traffic officials are reportedly among the main reasons for a breakdown in law enactment and road behaviour in South Africa, according to an Automobile Association (AA) study reported in the Beeld newspaper.
The report says that bribery has become such an entrenched practice that it would only be rooted out with difficulty. Traffic officials justify taking bribes with the argument that it is the only way to survive.
One man caught speeding at 193km/h offered the traffic official R50, but was asked to increase the amount to R60 as there were three officers on duty who had to share the money, said Beeld.
This emerged from four reports the AA submitted to Transport Minister Dullah Omar on Monday concerning traffic law enactment, the overloading of trucks, road decay, and the AA’s traffic safety audit.
National and local authorities were criticised in the reports, particularly regarding effective management and the use of resources, said Beeld.
The report on law enactment in South Africa cites corruption in all its forms as one of the biggest stumbling blocks to improving traffic conditions and reducing accidents.
Alta Swanepoel, who was commissioned by the AA to compile the report, claims that many traffic officials regard accepting bribes as ?normal?. Some of them even justify taking bribes, as they believe the bribe is a kind of “fine” the offender pays.
The public employs double standards in judging traffic officials who accept bribes. In recounting with relish how they bribed a traffic officer, they conveniently forgot that they had made the offer in the first place.
A provincial traffic officer “boasted” that he stopped taxis on a street corner in Soshanguve if he wanted to take his wife out over the weekend. He reportedly earns about R2 300 within the space of three hours by this method.
It seemed to be common practice for truck drivers to receive between R200 and R1_000 (R6_000 for cross-border trips) from their employers before departing with their deliveries. The money is intended to be used as bribes along the route to ensure that deliveries are made on time. Money left over is a bonus for the driver, said the Beeld report.
Corruption is rampant in two areas: issuing of licences, and roadworthy certificates. For somebody who earns a salary of R1400 a month, R50 seems like a big windfall, said the newspaper.
Swanepoel told Beeld that traffic officers admitted to her that officers in Pretoria could earn an “extra” income of up to R700 a day, while 70 to 75% of traffic officials in Johannesburg reportedly have accepted bribes. Some traffic officers “earn” as much as R10_000 a week.